NHL ROUNDUP : Flames Get a Jump on Blackhawks

Theoren Fleury and Jiri Hrdina had goals in the first period, and goalie Mike Vernon made them stand up in the Calgary Flames’ 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night in a match of division leaders at Chicago.

Paul Ranheim and Sergei Priakin also scored for the Flames, who won their third consecutive game and stretched their Smythe Division lead to four points over Edmonton.

Rookie center Jeremy Roenick scored for the Blackhawks, who slipped into a tie with St. Louis for the Norris Division lead.

Vernon stopped 30 shots; Blackhawk goaltender Jacques Cloutier turned aside 23 shots.

St. Louis 9, Quebec 2--Brett Hull’s three goals and gave him the single-season record for the Blues, who caught up with Chicago by routing the Nordiques at St. Louis.

The victory ran the Blues’ winning streak to four games. St. Louis is an NHL-best 9-1-2 since the All-Star break.

Hull scored once in the first period and twice in the second.

He has 55 goals, breaking the record of 54 set by Wayne Babych in 1980-81. Hull has 24 goals and 15 assists in his last 21 games.

Philadelphia 3, Toronto 0--Pete Peeters stopped 27 shots to record his first victory of the season and the Flyers’ first shutout in almost two years, blanking the high-scoring Maple Leafs at Philadelphia.

Peeters gained his 20th career shutout in 12 NHL seasons as he won for the first time in 13 decisions (1-8-4) this season. The victory moved Peeters into the NHL’s top 20 all-time winning list with 237 victories.

The Flyers had not recorded a shutout in 142 games since a 6-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on March 26, 1988.